This fall, BFTW is pairing an Awana program with their church planting ministry in India.

“We are very excited because, through an Awana program like this, we can build up relationships with the children and thereby we can gain the trust of the families…that provides opportunities to share the Gospel.”

A new twist for an old ministry

Bibles For The World partners with like-minded ministries to put God’s Word in the hands of people who don’t have it. In the ministry’s early days, Pudaite recalls, providing Christian education was one way they “broke ground” in India’s unreached communities.

(Photo courtesy Bibles For The World)

First, BFTW would construct a one-room schoolhouse in the community. A church planter/teacher would begin work once the building was up, educating students and building relationships with parents. In time, the church planter/teacher became part of the community, and hearts began opening to the Gospel message.

“We were able to plant 35 churches within the span of just two to three years,” Pudaite says.

However, as time went on, the demands for education shifted. Rural communities still wanted their children to receive an education, but they wanted school to be taught in a certain way.

“People (villagers) want brick-and-mortar buildings, a teacher for every class, all teachers [to] be college graduates,” Pudaite explains. “These demands are very difficult to meet as a ministry, and they must be met before the community will give up land to build a school on.

“So, we’ve been searching for an alternative to the schoolhouse approach, and we found it in Awana.”

Through a partnership with ZimZam Global, BFTW’s Gospel workers and seminary students are learning how to use children’s ministry for church planting. The goal is to set a solid foundation so that the Awana program can begin in the fall.

“We have over 300 (indigenous) churches working with us, and we’re hoping we can start at least 20 to 30 [Awana] programs.”

Your prayers needed

The Good News of Jesus remains a foreign concept in many rural Indian villages. Please pray that the Awana program will help reduce the villagers’ fear and hostility towards church planters.

“Our workers will face some opposition, so we just need our friends in America to pray for them…that they may stay wise as serpents and harmless as doves as they go out and reach out with the love of Christ.”

Pray also that hearts will be softened to receive the truth of the Gospel.

Click here to learn more about Bibles For The World’s work in India.

Deanna Berkes of Orphan’s Heart previewed a few of the short-term mission trips coming up this year. She says, “We are taking groups or individuals for each of the weeks we have listed. We’ve got trips to Uganda, to Romania, to the Dominican Republic, Guatemala … [there are] several different nations that we are traveling to.”

On June 6, for instance, they are taking a team of young individuals to Uganda. Here, the team will work with an orphanage and a local school and help with some AWANA projects.

“We also have a trip going to Romania … July 26. And they will also be helping orphans. We work in two different orphanages in Romania with our ministry partner there as well as a group that does foster care. So you’re really being the hands and feet [of Jesus] here, going in and just loving on these kids, teaching them about the Gospel and sharing the Good News just through relationship and teaching.”

The exact projects these teams will be involved with depends on what skills and abilities each member brings to the table. There might be an English class or a women’s outreach, for instance. Berkes says they will do their best to utilize whatever talents the team has to offer.

The Gospel and short-term missions

A lot of people might feel that a few weeks overseas is too short to really make an impact, spiritually or otherwise. But Berkes says because there is such a focus on relationship—both between Orphan’s Heart and their partners and between those going and the people they serve—there really is a great opportunity to make a difference.

(Photo courtesy of Orphan’s Heart)

“I feel like when folks are on a short-term mission [trip], it’s really kind of a pressure cooker of sorts because emotions are high and expectations are there that you want to see the Gospel moving and want to see the Holy Spirit moving and it’s such an impactful way to get involved with sharing the Gospel,” Berkes says.

One of the ways they hope to emphasize the Gospel in their projects is through a series of specialized trips. Orphan’s Heart has been planning a mother-daughter, father-son, and senior adult trips. The idea is that these specific groups will be able to connect in a special way with mothers and daughters, fathers and sons, and seniors they will be working with.

Much of what takes place on these trips is about garnering a heart for missions and pursuing a deeper relationship with Jesus.

Berkes explains,  “It’s an awesome opportunity to kind of get to know our Lord and Savior on a more intimate basis because you’re in this opportunity that’s away from home, away from all of the things—the daily mundane and just things that we do on a regular basis and so it gives you that opportunity to refocus and re-center and get to focus wholly on the heavenly Father.”

You can view the 2018 trip calendar here. 

Even if you can’t go on a trip, it doesn’t mean you can’t be a major part of what Orphan’s Heart is doing.

“We’re always collecting school supplies to go to each of the countries we’re working in. Education is super important and critical to breaking that poverty cycle. And so, we collect school supplies to send to each country to share with those children there so we don’t have to purchase them.

“Another way is through child sponsorship. In many of the countries that we’re traveling to, folks can sign up for sponsoring a child. It is $38 a month.”

All of those funds go directly towards the educational, nutritional, and spiritual development of the sponsored child. To sponsor a child today, click here.

To donate supplies, click here. 

That’s where Mission Aviation Fellowship comes in. MAF exists to help reach isolated people in remote regions with God’s love through aviation, whether it’s flying in humanitarian aid, supplies, or personnel to meet the needs in a community.

(Photo courtesy of Mission Aviation Fellowship)

Recently in May and June, MAF staff flew over 3,000 Western Dani Bibles into Mulia, Papua to be distributed. Dave Ringenberg with MAF explains, “Mulia is located in a remote area of Papua, Indonesia. Once the Bibles they had on hand are gone, there’s no Bible bookstore to buy more. So the only way to restock is to put in an order and have the Bibles printed, shipped to MAF, and then delivered on flights to Mulia.”

He also adds, “Simultaneously, MAF flew in Awana trainers to help teach Awana leaders in the Mulia area. There are over 1,000 kids who participate in that program there. These trainers were a huge encouragement as they helped organize Bible lessons, Scripture memorization, and various games.”

MAF in Papua also partners with School of Hope, which aims to provide Gospel-centered curriculum to local children who otherwise might receive a substandard education, or none at all.

“So MAF helps transport teachers and kids to the various different villages in Papua,” shares Ringenberg. “Most of the people that we come in contact with say that the education these kids are receiving is so much better than in the past, mostly because of the dedicated teachers they have teaching these kids. They’re really going beyond the rote and the understanding. They’re getting into application…. MAF is privileged to work alongside the School of Hope to reach these kids and help them grow in their knowledge of the Lord Jesus.”

As God continues to bless MAF’s ministry and partnerships in Papua, Indonesia, MAF hopes the global Body of Christ can help spur them on in aviation outreach.

You see, the caravan amphibious aircraft they’re using in Papua is one of their oldest airplanes in the fleet with over 20,000 hours of flight time. While they’re working to maintain it, the aircraft really needs to be replaced.

(Photo courtesy of Mission Aviation Fellowship)

“This caravan is crucial to the ministry of MAF because not only does it land on a runway, but it can land in water too — hence the name ‘amphib’. Therefore, we can use this aircraft to reach many different types of people groups, and that’s why it’s such a strategic aircraft for us to use here in Papua.”

The amphib aircraft is going to cost $2,900,000, and MAF has currently raised almost half of that amount.

“It’s quite an expensive aircraft, so we need quite a few donors to meet this need and this goal that we’re achieving…. We’d appreciate your prayers as we look to support and replace this aircraft for future use.”

If you’d like to donate towards a new caravan amphibious aircraft to advance ministry in Papua, Indonesia with MAF, click here!

(Photo courtesy of Bibles For The World)

However, there’s a story behind this new development, and it started just over 40 years ago.

In 1974, Bibles For The World’s founders, Drs. Rochunga and Mawii Pudaite, traveled to The First International Congress on World Evangelization held in Lausanne, Switzerland — also known as the Lausanne Congress.

John Pudaite, President and CEO of Bibles For The World, explains, “When my parents attended [the Lausanne Congress], one of the areas of the world that was highlighted as one of the most unreached places in the world was the state of Tripura. And here, it is just a hop, skip, and a jump away from our place in India, and mom and dad and a couple of the Indian leaders that were with them felt so convicted that they had to come all the way to Lausanne, Switzerland to find out that their next-door neighbor was one of the least reached places in the world.

“Following that, mom and dad mobilized 35 young national workers to go as teacher-missionaries into the state of Tripura. They went in with a strategy of using education for evangelism. So each one of them set-up in a different unreached village a little one-room schoolhouse — very simple, bamboo walls and thatch roof — and started teaching the kids there in that village the basics of English and math and things like that. By developing that relationship with the children, they gained the trust of the parents and families. Within two years, every one of those 35 missionaries was able to plant a church.”

(Photo courtesy of Bibles For The World via Facebook)

In God’s power through Bibles For The World’s ministry, there are now over 100 churches in the state of Tripura. But the Great Commission work is far from over.

The problem now is the cost to start new schools in Tripura has become too high for the ministry. Bamboo walls, thatch roofs, and a willing teacher-missionary are no longer enough to get a schoolhouse up and running.

“When we start to look at projects like this and try to budget them, they come up to at least $80,000-120,000 minimum to get a school like that going. And if our target is to plant churches and reach these people with the message of salvation through Jesus Christ, then that’s just not a viable, sustainable sort of model,” says Pudaite.

Bibles For The World still continues their current education programs in India, but they realized they needed a different strategy for new evangelism initiatives and children’s outreaches.

Then they connected with a collection of ministries under one mission initiative called ZimZam Global whose goal is “to multiply healthy churches among all peoples through children, youth and families”, according to their website. ZimZam Global does this by partnering with churches and ministries to carry out Awana programs for “high-impact child evangelism and discipleship”.

Pudaite says of ZimZam Global, “They derived their name from their initial work in Zimbabwe and Zambia, but now they’ve taken it to other countries in Africa and when we heard what they were doing, we invited them over to India.

(Photo courtesy of Bibles For the World)

“So they came and did the first round of training at our seminary, and we brought together not only our 120-or-so seminary students, but we also brought together teachers, evangelists, some of the leaders from our schools, and pastors from the area, as well as some of the indigenous church leaders to get a taste of this. They brought with them the Awana India leadership.”

Children’s outreach through Awana programs is going to be more sustainable for Bibles For The World’s ministry in the long-run. They hope to see God continue to stir spiritual revival in India through this new initiative.

“Basically, the strategy is going in and starting Awana clubs in villages. There’s very low overhead, very low cost, but in the same way, developing relationships with the children and…building off those to build trust with the families, [and] providing opportunities to share the message of the Gospel with those families. So we are really excited about this.”

The first training with ZimZam Global was in April, and they had 165 people at the training. The next round of training is expected in November.

Click here if you’d like to support Bibles For The World as they make God’s name known throughout India!

And please also be in prayer for their ministry. Pray that through these new Awana clubs, more children and families might be forever changed by the truth and love of their Heavenly Father.

Ultimately, says Pudaite, “Children’s ministry, that’s the focus, using the work that we can do among children to build those relationships with the kids and with their families so we can share the message and the love of Jesus Christ with them.”

Citizens have until December 30 to exchange the old currency for the new 2000 rupee note.  There’s a new rule now…issued just a few days before the deadline.  People can still deposit bank notes above 5,000 rupee, but they’re limited to just one time until December 30.  Additionally, this can only be done after an explanation to two bank officials about why the deposit wasn’t made earlier…and officials can refuse the explanation for whatever reason.

Seems like a straightforward situation, but it’s quite the opposite.  Bibles For The World’s John Pudaite not only saw the impact firsthand, but also felt it.  For one thing, he says, “It’s really hitting the people in the rural areas and the poorer people.  They don’t have money stashed away.  They don’t even have bank accounts (a lot of them).  There are limitations on what can be taken out from the bank.”

It also complicates things for visitors.  “At one time, we had 71 Americans with us.  Through most of the trip we had 16 of us.  It was very difficult just to get the cash just to cover our daily expenses.”

The problem starts here:  “The government issued a 2000 rupee note, but nobody would accept it because nobody had change for it because the 500s and 1000s are not usable.”  Then it got complicated.  “It was either a 2000 or a 100 rupee note, but there weren’t enough of those (100s).  That’s where things got really crazy.  You got a 2000 rupee note after waiting in line forever at the bank, and then you had nowhere to use it.”

For those in rural areas with no access to a bank, it’s a whole new wrinkle.  BFTW is not the only ministry with schools and churches in remote areas.  “I know this is hitting a lot of the different ministries, especially those that are working in more difficult areas, or in somewhat restricted conditions or hostile conditions where they can’t even open a bank account in their name because they want to stay under cover.”

What does this mean for staff and ministry partners in these areas?  They’re just getting creative, says Pudaite.  “In some cases, we’ve resorted to a barter system, paying workers in rice and other essential commodities that they need for their daily living.”

(Photo of Seed Sower Seminary courtesy of Bibles For The World)

That’s the short-term solution and the backdrop to what is expected to be a busy 2017.  Part of the reason they were visiting BFTW church partners in India was to introduce more children’s programming.  It’s thought that lifelong moral and spiritual beliefs are largely in place by adolescence — people seem to be most open to the Gospel between the ages of 4 and 14-years-old, a time frame known as the 4/14 Window.

“We had visitors this time from AWANA-India as well as a group called ZimZam Global.  They are going to be coming and doing training with us on how to use AWANA, first in our existing churches, strengthen the children’s education there…. The ZimZam group uses children’s ministry as a way of evangelism and church planting.”

(Photo courtesy of Bibles For The World)

The plan, explains Pudaite, is, “We’re going to take that beyond our existing churches out into the field, training our young evangelists and missionaries in AWANA so they can go out and use that as a way to build trust — first with the children, then with the families — and then hopefully, plant churches in these villages.”

Issues with currency are a distraction, true, but with a focus on hope for a future, it is a fleeting one.  Please be praying that the details on the financial end work out smoothly, and that as the programs are implemented at ministry points, hearts open to the good news of a Savior.

The President of Awana Clubs Jack Eggar says this is difficult for most Christian parents. "There's nothing that's heavier on the heart of a parent who knows the Lord then when that parent's son or daughter grows up and doesn't share the values in Christ — to walk away from the church, and then to have grandchildren who are going to be raised in a home where Jesus Christ is not central."

According to Eggar, Christians kids in America are in crisis because "the parents have long assumed that the church is where spiritual development takes place. And the church to some degree has participated in assuming that."

That's why Awana Clubs has started Project Joseph–a campaign to encourage parents and churches to partner together to raise a generation that knows, loves and serves Jesus Christ.

Awana has been instrumental is raising kids who stay in church. That's evidenced by a survey among Awana alumni. It finds almost 93-percent of those who attended Awana Clubs for more than six years are still attending church and are leaders in their churches."

Eggar says, "We not only teach kids theology, Bible basics, Bible stories, memorizing all the books of the Bible, but they learn the themes — the scarlet thread of redemption. We center on the Gospel of Jesus Christ."

But they don't leave the kids as new babes in Christ; they disciple them. "We teach them to hide God's Word in their hearts. That's why we keep challenging them to learn more Biblical truth. And that's why today, more than ever before, we're getting parents involved."

Some progressive churches are even inviting parents of unchurched kids to stay at church. He says many of them are turning to Christ. As they do, they're being trained to disciple their kids. "The more we can get parents attached, involved, connected and committed to this cause, the greater will be the result and the product — a child who knows, loves and serves Jesus Christ."

If you'd like information on Awana Clubs and the Joseph Project, click here.